UPDATE – Ismail Haniyeh re-elected Hamas leader: Source

UPDATES WITH DETAILS, EDITS THROUGH

By Nour Abu Eisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Sunday re-elected Ismail Haniyeh as the head of the movement’s political bureau for a second four-year term, a Hamas source told Anadolu Agency.

Hamas’ Shura Council convened on Sunday and elected Haniyeh as the head of the movement’s political bureau, the group’s highest executive authority, the source said, without giving further details.

An informed source earlier told Anadolu Agency that former group leader Khaled Meshaal had declined to run against Haniyeh for the post.

Meshaal is currently the head of Hamas in diaspora and Yehya Sinwar heads Hamas in Gaza.

During Sunday’s session, the Shura Council also re-elected Saleh al-Arouri as Hamas’ deputy chief for a second term, the source said.

Al-Arouri, who is also Hamas’ chief in the occupied West Bank, was elected to the post for the first time in October 2017.

Hamas holds its internal elections every four years in secrecy due to Israel’s security crackdown against the group.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara